Annual pilgrimage to Mecca is epic spiritual journey

“ Here we come, O Allah, here we come! Here we come. No partners do you have. Here we come! Truly the praise and the blessings are yours- the Kingdom too! No partners do you have!”

Once you enter Mecca at the time of the Hajj you will hear this continuous chorus of praise to Allah coming from the throngs of worshipers as they make their intentions to walk in the footsteps of the prophet and visit the house of Allah.

The annual pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the world’s largest spiritual gatherings. It happens over a five-day period from the 9th through the 13th in Dhul-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Muslim lunar calendar. The corresponding dates to the Gregorian calendar are October 13-18, 2013.

Every year, more than two million Muslims make this pilgrimage to Mecca. To prevent a colossal logistical nightmare of crowd control, every Muslim country has a hajj quota of 1,000 pilgrims per million inhabitants, or 1 percent of its population. Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, sends 200,000 pilgrims for the Hajj, followed by Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. According to the Religion News Service, last year some 12,000 American Muslims made the pilgrimage to Mecca. A spokesman for the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington, D.C., said that this has been a consistent number in recent years.

The first pivotal point of the Hajj is the grand edifice of the Kaaba, a large single-room structure of stone with a marble floor, which lies in the center of the Holy Mosque (al Masjid al Haram) in the Holy City of Mecca. The Kaaba is Islam's holiest site. It stands some 60 feet high, and each side is approximately 60 feet in length. A black curtain with gold Arabic inscription adorns the structure. Copper rings fasten the curtain to its foundation. The door of the Kaaba sits in the southeast wall, about seven feet from the ground. Inside, there are pillars, which support the roof. The interior is furniture with gold and silver lamps. On the inner walls, there are several bands of inscriptions that record the many repairs done to the Kaaba.

“The first House (of worship) appointed for men was that at Bakka: Full of blessing and of guidance for all kinds of beings,” reads the Koran, 3:96.

All authorities agree that Bakkah is the ancient name of Mecca.

Bakkah in Hebrew means “valley of weeping.”

The Bible also refers to the valley of Baca in connection with the pilgrimage, in Psalms 84: 5-6: “Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, in whose hearts are the ways of them. Who passing through the Valley of Baca…”

The Koran, 22:26, states that prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael were the true builders of the Kaaba: “And remember when We showed Abraham the site of the (Sacred) House (saying): Associate not anything in worship with Me and purify My House for those who circumambulate it and those who stand up for prayer and those who bow down and make prostration.”

The Kaaba is the center of the Muslim world. Five times a day more than a billion Muslims turn their faces in the direction of the Kaaba to offer their five daily prayers.

Set in the eastern corner of the Kaaba is the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad). During the height of the Hajj, energetic Muslims make a feverish attempt to kiss or touch the Black Stone, not because the Black Stone is holy but because Prophet Muhammad kissed it.

Umar ibn Al-Khattā, the second ruler of Islam after the death of the prophet, came to the Black Stone while performing his Hajj, kissed it, and said, “I know that you are a stone, you do not cause benefit or harm; and if it were not that I had seen Allah’s Messenger kiss you, I would never have kissed you.”

Prophet Muhammad said: “The reward for an accepted Hajj is nothing less than paradise.”

Many Muslims from Northeast Ohio have taken this spiritual journey and sent their blessing to those who will visit the House of Allah during this season of the Hajj as they perform the compulsory rituals in the manner prescribed by Prophet Muhammad.

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